What aspect of the text interested you the most?
I found the data tables themselves to be one of the most interesting aspects of this study. Having the influencing factors laid out in front of me along with their level of influence made the study easy to understand. The two tables which showed the the effect each factor had on a student's knowledge by grade level reaffirmed some of my own beliefs. I was not surprised to see that teachers who understand how to work with different student populations will see better results from their students. Nor was it surprising to see that higher-order thinking skills increase student success. The study reaffirmed many ideas for me and showed me in context why certain skills or qualities are important in a teacher.
How do you define the effectiveness of a teacher? In other words, how will you decide if you are an effective teacher?
An effective teacher is one who can teach a student how to learn and the importance of asking questions. Also, an effect teacher develops in their students a desire to discover the answers on their own. If you can get your students to engage with the subject by asking questions and seeking knowledge as well as teach them to draw thoughtful conclusions without simply parroting information you have succeeded. They will become life-long learners who will see success as students and in life generally. When a teacher becomes obsolete that is when they have reached the peak of success. A teacher's job is to guide a student towards knowledge not to give answers.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Technology: The Middle Class Advantage
Generation IM: Getting Through to Today's Teched-out Children
While it is true that many students are heavily exposed to technology outside the classroom it isn't true for everyone. This article suggests that teachers implement technology into their curriculum in order to keep up with the changing world. My concern is that this will widen the gap between high SES schools and low SES schools. If a student doesn't have the resources at home or in the classroom to use technology it will put them far behind those students who do. This could affect their transition into higher education and leave them at a disadvantage. The question of how we can get technology into all classrooms should be our first question before we start making it a regular part of curriculum for privileged students.
While it is true that many students are heavily exposed to technology outside the classroom it isn't true for everyone. This article suggests that teachers implement technology into their curriculum in order to keep up with the changing world. My concern is that this will widen the gap between high SES schools and low SES schools. If a student doesn't have the resources at home or in the classroom to use technology it will put them far behind those students who do. This could affect their transition into higher education and leave them at a disadvantage. The question of how we can get technology into all classrooms should be our first question before we start making it a regular part of curriculum for privileged students.
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